POTW | Loring Park Nbhd

Originally and intuitively named “Central Park,” what’s now known as Loring Park was renamed in honor of Charles M. Loring, the “Father of Minneapolis Parks.” Loring Park was established in 1883 after the passage of the Park Act—which first created the Minneapolis Public Parks Board. The initial land purchase contained 30 acres at a cost of $150,000. Today, Loring Park is a vibrant urban community with a wonderful mix of people, land uses, art and events. This weekend is of course Pride Festival, which seems like a good time to feature this fantastic neighborhood.

On a price per square footage basis, Loring Park properties are more expensive than the City of Minneapolis but less than the downtown Minneapolis (Central) community. In other words, Loring Park is pricey compared to Minneapolis as a whole, but quite affordable relative to downtown Minneapolis.

Within just the downtown universe, Loring Park is by far the most affordable of the downtown neighborhoods. Values in Downtown East (which includes the Mill District and is now called “East Town”) are the loftiest, followed by Elliot Park, North Loop and finally Loring Park.

Homes in Loring Park also tend to spend more time on the market—with a median of 48 days of being active before an offer is accepted. North loop properties sell the quickest at a median of just 19 days on the market. Virtually every one of these communities has seen market times decline—some are at an all-time record pace.

As one might expect from the data so far, Loring Park has what some might call the most “consumer-friendly” absorption rate. With 3.1 months supply of inventory, this neighborhood is the closest to a “balanced market” of any downtown neighborhood. Even so, a balanced market should have between 5 and 6 months of supply. By comparison, the Downtown East neighborhood has just 1.2 months of supply, partly the result of extremely strong demand in the Mill District coupled with weak listing activity.